The City of Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas have been struck by devastating floods. Thousands were stranded. The roadways to their homes are flooded and most impassable. Flooding is not new to Louisiana. Just over ten years ago, the state experienced one of the most devastating natural disasters on record with Hurricane Katrina. Since then, numerous other storms have taken swipes at the state – Gustav, Rita, Isaac, to name a few. 2016 has been the year of unnamed storms thus far for the citizens of Louisiana. Alexandria, Monroe, Shreveport, and Lake Charles each flooded in the months preceding the “Great Flood of 2016” currently affecting Baton Rouge.

Storms are uncontrollable, but as a patent attorney, I turn to technology that we can control for assistance in the aftermath. There is a glimmer of hope that we are not alone, that similar events throughout the world have resulted in great innovations some of which are currently being implemented throughout Baton Rouge to speed the recovery and rescue stranded citizens. These innovations are far and wide, including solar technology, mobile cell phone towers, power stations, water filtration apparatuses. Even the oft-hated drones are being used to locate people and assess flooding from vantage points that would have previously been limited to helicopters.

One of the more popular examples of these innovations is the Aqua Dam by Layfield, which is being used across the area to block water from roadways. We have all heard the moniker that you cannot fight fire with fire; the Aqua Dam is proof, however, that you may be able to hold off water with water. Patented as U.S. Patent nos. 8,840,338 in 2014 and 9,297,133 in 2016, the Aqua Dam is a portable reservoir body apparatus comprising a plurality of interior bladders contained within an exterior housing (the outer tube). The interior bladders are filled with fluids causing them to expand and fill the cavity of the outer tube. The unit further comprises a series of fasteners to maintain its shape, thereby creating a displacement dam which prevents the passage of water. These units are being used on the interstate, major highways and bridges. In most instances, the flood water is being pumped straight from the road into the dam being formed to keep the water at bay, opening the roadways.

To the folks at Layfield, we salute you and appreciate your innovative contributions. The Aqua Dam structures have and will continue to open our roadways, allowing evacuees to escape and rescuers to enter flooded areas. To others, and particularly the citizens of Louisiana, please keep innovating. We cannot prevent all future flooding, but we can help diminish their impact with innovations like these.

]]>https://www.louisianalawblog.com/corps-of-engineers/patented-invention-spotlight-aqua-dam-layfield-group/feed/0U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Suspends Legal Delays Due to Floodinghttps://www.louisianalawblog.com/business-litigation/u-s-district-court-middle-district-louisiana-suspends-legal-delays-due-flooding/
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Chief Judge Brian Jackson issued an “Omnibus Order Suspending All Deadlines” for cases pending or to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. The Order explains that the court has been inaccessible—a key term in the Federal Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure—since August 12, 2016 due to historic flooding in the region. Until further notice from the Middle District, all deadlines and delays in cases pending or to be filed in the Middle District are suspended. This suspension expressly applies to prescriptive and peremptive periods. In addition, all pending criminal cases in the Middle District are temporarily excluded from the time requirements of the Speedy Trial Act.

The Middle District’s Order follows similar Executive Orders from Governor Edwards, which suspended deadlines in Louisiana state courts due to flooding. More information about the Governor’s Orders is available here.

A copy of the Middle District’s Order (M.D. La. General Order 2016-10) is available here.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has granted tax relief to postpone various tax filing and payment deadlines for certain filings or payments that were due on or after August 11, 2016. The relief postpones the filing deadlines or payment deadlines until January 17, 2017. Therefore, this extension will include the September 15th deadline for making quarterly estimated tax payments. For individuals, it will also include the 2015 income tax returns that had not been filed and were on extension until October 17, 2016. However, the extension does not apply to the tax payments related to the 2015 returns because those amounts were originally due prior to the disaster on April 18, 2016.

Business tax deadlines are also affected by the extension including the September 15th deadline for corporation and partnership returns on extension and the October 31 deadline for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns.

Furthermore, the IRS indicated that they are waiving late deposit penalties for federal payroll and excise tax deposits normally due on or after August 11th and before August 26th if the deposits are made by August 26, 2016.

Only taxpayers considered to be “affected taxpayers” are eligible for the postponement of time to file returns, pay taxes and perform other time sensitive acts allowed by the extension. The “affected taxpayers” include:

Any individual whose principal residence, and any business entity whose principal place of business, is located in the parishes designated as disaster areas;

Any individual who is a relief worker assisting in a covered disaster area, regardless of whether he is affiliated with recognized government or philanthropic organization;

Any individual whose principal residence and any business entity whose principal place of business is not located in a covered disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a filing or payment deadline are maintained in a covered disaster area;

Any estate or trusts that has tax records necessary to meet a filing or payment deadline in a covered disaster area; and

Any spouse of an affected taxpayer, solely with regard to a joint return of the spouses.

As of August 17, 2016, the only parishes listed by the IRS as qualifying for the above relief were the parishes of Acadia, Ascension, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington and West Feliciana. However, it is possible that additional parishes will be added after that date for any other parishes that FEMA adds to the disaster declaration so anyone who believes they were affected by the 2016 flood should verify whether or not their parish has been added to the list of parishes qualifying for the relief by the IRS.

For updates or more information on the IRS tax relief for the Louisiana flood, click here. This page should be updated as the IRS adds additional parishes to the disaster relief.

On August 17, 2016, Governor Edwards amended Executive Order JBE 2016-57 which had suspended the running of prescription, peremption, and all legal delays from August 12, 2016 until September 9, 2016. The amendment to Executive Order JBE 2016-57 modifies the suspension of deadlines as follows:

Liberative prescription and peremptive periods continueto be suspended throughout Louisiana until Friday, September 9, 2016.

Deadlines in legal proceedings currently pending in state courts, administrative agencies, and boards in Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana, Parishes, continue to be suspended until Friday September 9, 2016. This suspension includes all deadlines set forth in the Louisiana Civil Code, the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Title 9 (Civil Code Ancillaries) Title 13 (Courts and Judicial Procedure), Chapter 11 of Title 18 (Election Campaign Financing); Chapter 10 of Title 23 (Worker’s Compensation); Chapter 5, Part XXI-A of Title 40 (Malpractice Liability for State Services); Chapter 5, Part XXIII, of Title 40 (Medical Malpractice), and Title 49, Chapter 13 (Administrative Procedure) of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. This is a modification from the original Exeuctive Order JBE 2016-57 which suspended deadlines statewide.

Except for the suspension of prescriptive and peremptive periods and the suspension of deadlines in the parishes listed above, the suspension provided for in original Executive Order JBE 2016-53 shall end Friday, August 19, 2016. If a party can show an inability to meet the deadlines caused the flooding, the court, administrative agency, or board shall suspend deadlines specific to that matter until September 9, 2016.

In the aftermath of the floods that devastated southeastern Louisiana, many businesses will be in need of financial assistance for uninsured or under-insured losses. The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) offers financial assistance to businesses in declared disaster areas through low-interest, long-terms loans.

Business Physical Disaster Loans. Businesses of all sizes, as well as private, non-profit organizations, may borrow funds to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery or equipment, and inventory and other business assets. A physical disaster loan may be increased up to 20 percent of the confirmed physical loss, and the increase can be used to make improvements to mitigate potential future disasters.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan. Small businesses may borrow funds to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster, regardless of damage to physical property. Economic injury loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes that have suffered substantial economic injury. Substantial economic injury means that the business or organization is unable to meet its obligations and pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses.

The statutory limit for SBA business loans is $2 million and applies to the combination of physical, economic injury, mitigation, refinancing, and all disaster loans to a business and its affiliates for each disaster. A business or organization must have either physical damage or economic harm and be located in a disaster-declared parish to qualify. The interest rate on the loans is capped at 4 percent if credit cannon be obtained elsewhere and 8 percent when credit is available elsewhere. The term of the loans will not exceed 30 years.

A Disaster Loan Application may be submitted online with the SBA at or may be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76155-2243. A completed Form 4506-T must be submitted with the loan application to give the IRS permission to provide SBA tax return information. All loan applicants must first register with FEMA and obtain a registration number. Businesses can register with FEMA.

As of the date of this article, the initial federal disaster declaration included the parishes of Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge, and Livingston. Additional parish declarations are expected as further damage assessments are conducted.

On August 12, 2016, the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issued an Emergency Administrative Order to provide relief from otherwise applicable state-issued environmental permit terms and rules in order to manage the situations created by the unprecedented flooding in southern Louisiana. The Order is available here. The Order applies to the same parishes that the Governor has declared to be within the emergency area: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Lafayette, Livingston, St. Helena, St. James, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington and West Baton Rouge. It is effective until 11:59 p.m. on September 12, 2016.

Past experience has indicated that these types of emergency orders are often amended to cover additional areas, extend the time period, or to add other relief.

In the wake of recent flooding in Louisiana, Governor Edwards has issued Executive Order JBE 2016-53, suspending all legal deadlines, including liberative prescriptive and peremptive periods, in all state courts and regulatory agencies. The order applies retroactively from Friday, August 12, 2016, and will last through Friday, September 9, 2016, providing a 28 day suspension period. As a result, the period of time in which a party must file suit has been temporarily suspended from August 12, 2016 through September 9, 2016. On September 10, 2016, the prescriptive and peremptive periods will begin running and the time which preceded the suspension should be added to the time which follows it to determine the necessary prescriptive or peremptive period. Therefore, parties who currently have prescriptive or peremptive periods running will have an additional 28 days to file suit before those periods accrue.

Executive Order JBE 2016-53 also temporarily suspends legal delays, such as those pertaining to service deadlines, motions for new trial, motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, suspensive appeals, and devolutive appeals. Again, the suspension will not commence these delays anew, but temporarily halt their running.

Executive Order JBE 2016-53 applies to all deadlines found in the Louisiana Civil Code, the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Title 9 (Civil Code Ancillaries) Title 13 (Courts and Judicial Procedure), Chapter 11 of Title 18 (Election Campaign Financing); Chapter 10 of Title 23 (Worker’s Compensation); Chapter 5, Part XXI-A of Title 40 (Malpractice Liability for State Services); Chapter 5, Part XXIII, of Title 40 (Medical Malpractice), and Title 49, Chapter 13 (Administrative Procedure) of the Louisiana Revised Statutes